Australian shares are poised to open higher as trade tensions between the US and China keep investors wary of a potential escalation, triggering market swings.

ASX futures turned positive late, reversing earlier losses greater than 40 points.

The S&P 500 opened higher, plunged and then rebounded to end the day with a 0.4 per cent advance as trade headlines shifted sentiment from positive to negative to neutral.

Macquarie could get an early boost after it agreed to sell a Texas-based data centre company for $US40 billion ($61 billion). Macquarie Asset Management head Ben Way says the infrastructure investor has five more portfolio companies that could reach the scale of Aligned Data Centers within five years.

Federal Reserve governor Stephen Miran said there are “now more downside risks than there was a week ago”, pointing to the back and forth trade moves by China and the US.

Higher uncertainty around trade policies between China and the US has introduced a “new tail risk”, he said.

“I wouldn’t say that I want even lower rates now than I did a week or a month ago,” Miran said. “However, with the change to the balance of risks, I think it becomes even more urgent that we get to a more neutral place in policy quickly.”

Separately, finance chiefs from the Group of Seven industrial nations will consider a joint response to discourage China’s planned move to control the global supply of rare earths, officials said.

With Bloomberg

Market highlights

ASX 200 futures are pointing up 5 points or 0.1 per cent to 9024.
All US prices at 4.25pm New York time.

AUD +0.4 to US65.12¢Bitcoin -1.2% to $US111,500On Wall St: Dow -0.04% S&P +0.4% Nasdaq +0.7%VIX -0.25 to 20.56Gold +1.6% to $US4208.53 an ounceBrent oil -0.2% to $US62.24 a barrelIron ore -0.3% to $US104.90 a tonne10-year yield: US 4.03% Australia 4.21%Today’s agenda

Quarterly updates are expected from AMP, Challenger and Santos. Among the companies set to hold annual meetings are Aurizon, Stockland and Treasury Wine.

RBA assistant governor (financial markets) Christopher Kent is scheduled to speak at the CFA Society Australia Investment Conference 2025 in Sydney at 8.50am.

The key data print on Thursday is the September Labour Force report at 11.30am.

NAB: “Trend employment growth has slowed this year even as private demand has picked up as exceptional employment gains in heath and care industries have moderated. We expect employment growth of 20k in September, and lean to a 4.3% on unemployment.”

eToro’s Farhan Badami: ”The ABS has made it clear that, despite job creation stalling, a large volume of people leaving the labour force has been a partial driver in monthly figures appearing more stable than the on-the-ground job hunting experience seems to suggest.

“Still, it’s the number, not the context, that the RBA seems to prefer when considering rate calls, and so a steady unemployment figure does create some optimism for those hoping for an additional rate cut before the end of the year. Sticky inflation has all but taken a late-September cut off the table, but there’ll be two more meetings on monetary policy before the end of the year. If CPI comes back towards a target range and we see unemployment continue to hold steady at around 4.2 per cent, a November 25bps cut is a firm possibility.”

Top stories

Origin CEO questions offshore wind as another project falls over | Energy boss Frank Calabria says the sector needs much more support to be viable in Australia, as Germany’s RWE ditches its Victorian project due to high costs.

Macquarie sells data centres to Nvidia-backed group in $61b deal | Macquarie’s Ben Way says the investor has five more portfolio companies that could reach the scale of Aligned Data Centers in three to five years.

Labor to crack down on crypto ATMs amid scam surge | New powers will be handed to regulators to restrict the use of crypto ATMs, which have become a hub for scams and illegal money laundering.

Bessent floats longer tariff truce for China rare earth delay | The US treasury secretary predicted a coordinated response to China’s move from the US and several allies including Australia and Canada.

Place your bets as share prices for rare earths players soar | Australian Strategic Minerals was among ASX-listed miners enjoying a surging valuation this week. Chief executive Rowena Smith explains what should come next, writes Jennifer Hewett.